Traditionally (and I’m talking well before any guy named Jesus was apparently born of a virgin in the Middle-East), the winter solstice was a celebration of the shortest day of the year, one where the sun and its heat would gradually return to the earth in the form of increasingly longer days after the long cold winter. Of course, this celebration was warranted, and was a massive morale booster, after so many months in ice and snow with little sunlight, a person’s vitamin D levels be at a very low level, and people would be prone to depression and low moods.

Here in the southern hemisphere, we don’t have as much of a problem with depression in during our summer solstice. We have to cope with sunburn, flies and mosquitoes, and the occasional dropbear. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t like a freebie!

So, in honour of my loyal readers, and in worship of the sun-god Ra, I present to you my “Annual Non-Denominational Winter/Summer Solstice Celebration Giveaway Happy Fun Time!” My friends at Melbourne’s best independent bookstore, Embiggen Books, have chosen their 4 best non fiction titles of 2012, and one lucky reader will be the recipient of these books. Think of it as my gift to you for reading my ramblings.

But there’s a catch. You have to do something for me in order to be in the running for this awesome prize.

Simply tweet on Twitter (and be sure to include the link!):

“I’d like to win the prize of Embiggening my mind, thanks to @martinpribble and @embiggenbooks #embiggenmymind http://bit.ly/11Te6Ea”

Or leave a message on my Facebook page (again, be sure to include the link!):

“I’d like to win the prize of Embiggening my mind, thanks to Martin S Pribble and Embiggen Books! http://bit.ly/11Te6Ea”

Easy, no? Once that’s done, you will be entered into the draw.

Only one entry per person, and the winner will be drawn at random on Sunday December 23rd. (A little late for Xmas I know, but I was a bit disorganised. Sorry.)

So what are the titles? See below!

“Thinking Fast And Slow” by Daniel Kahneman

“Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives—and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble. Thinking, Fast and Slow will transform the way you think about thinking.”

“The Best American Science and Nature Writing” Edited by Dan Ariely

“The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected — and most popular — of its kind.”

“The Best Australian Science Writing” Edited by Elizabeth Finkel

“How were Ned Kelly’s bones finally identified? What makes cockroaches some of the most successful creatures on the planet? Could some obscure bacteria finally rid the world of dengue fever? How did infant reflux become the disease of the moment? Why does the discovery of a planet made of one huge diamond cause so much media excitement? And do video games really rot children’s brains? From the furthest reaches of the universe to the microscopic world of our genes, science offers writers the kind of scope other subjects simply can’t match. Good writing about science can be moving, funny, exhilarating or poetic, but it will always be honest and rigorous about the research that underlies it. Editor Elizabeth Finkel showcases the nation’s best science writing, drawn from some of this country’s best publications. With a foreword by Nobel Prize-winning astronomer Professor Brian Schmidt, the anthology includes contributions from Margaret Wertheim, Ashley Hay, Wilson da Silva, Jo Chandler and a host of new voices.”

“Mortality” by Christopher Hitchens

“Mortality is the most meditative piece of writing Hitchens has ever produced; at once an unsparingly honest account of the ravages of his disease, an examination of cancer bathroom etiquette, and the coda to a lifetime of fierce debate and peerless prose. In this eloquent confrontation of mortality, Hitchens returns a human face to a disease that has become a contemporary cipher of suffering.”

So get on it folks! Remember to include the hashtag #embiggenmymind if tweeting, or post to my Facebook page so I can track your entry (my Facebook page for Martin S Pribble is www.facebook.com/martinspribble). Good luck and may The Force be with you!